Abdominal and Multifidus Muscle Morphology and Function, Trunk Clinical Tests, and Symmetry in Young Elite Archery Athletes

Background/Objectives: Archery is a technical sport involving repetitive and asymmetrical movements that requires trunk stability to enable good performance of the upper extremities. Being an asymmetrical sport, imbalances between sides might appear in the abdominal and back muscles. To assess trunk muscle function and symmetry in young competitive archers. Methods: Analyzing pre-season screening evaluation tests from medical files. This included an ultrasound examination of back and abdominal muscles (transverse abdominus and internal oblique) during rest and contraction and trunk muscle clinical strength tests. Results: Data on 15 elite archery athletes (mean age 17.2 (±2.7) years) were included. No athletes reported low back pain. No differences were found between the dominant and non-dominant sides in all outcome measurements (absolute thickness and percentage difference). Internal oblique muscle thickness during rest and contraction for the dominant side was higher in males compared with females (p < 0.05). The back muscles were more symmetrical than the abdominal muscles. Conclusions: Despite the asymmetrical functional demands of sport archery, young athletes displayed trunk muscle symmetry, particularly in their back muscles. While some variability in abdominal muscle asymmetry was observed, these differences were not statistically significant.